Tag: vegan

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Butternut squash risotto

If you’re anything like us and have a gigantic butternut squash to eat up and are sick of the same recipes try this one. It’s delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1kg butternut squash (peeled and cut up)
  • large bunch of sage, roughly chopped
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable bouillon
  • Olive oil (roughly 3 tbsp but I like to add more)
  • 50g butter (make it vegan with vegan block or similar)
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 300g risotto rice
  • 150ml white wine
  • 1 tbsp miso paste (available instore only)
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (plus some for sprinkling at the table)
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

Method

Preheat oven to 220c (200c fan).

Spread the chopped butternut squash on a baking tray, scatter sage leaves over, drizzle olive oil over and mix well. Roast for 30 minutes until soft and brown.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer. In a separate pan melt half the butter and add the onions, cooking on a low heat for 5-8 minutes until soft but not browned. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes.

Pour the wine in and stir until absorbed. Over a low heat, add the stock, 200ml at a time, stirring well, don’t add more stock until the last addition has been absorbed. Keep stirring to avoid it sticking and after roughly 25 minutes the rice will be al dente. You want the rice to have a creamy consistency. Stir the miso, nutritional yeast and lemon juice through the rice.

Take the squash out of the oven and mash half of it. Leave the rest as chunks. Stir the mashed squash in along with the rest of the butter. Carefully stir in the squash chunks and serve, ideally with some nice crusty bread, like our sourdough.

Enjoy!

 

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Refreshing Orzo Salad

This refreshing orzo salad is just what you need on a hot day. Not too heavy but filled with flavour and lemony punch, it ticks all the boxes. We make a batch up as it is a little faffy to make but well worth it.

Ingredients:

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

1 tsp demerara sugar

350g orzo (refill in store)

Olive oil (refill in store)

Juice of half a lemon

Basil (dried or fresh)

Cherry tomatoes (halved)

Method:

Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion. Fry for 10 minutes until golden and caramelised, stirring regularly.

While the onion is cooking, boil the kettle. Cook the orzo in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with plenty of olive oil and leave to cool.

After the onion has been cooking for 10 minutes add the garlic and sugar. Cook for a further 3 minutes then remove from the heat.

Add the lemon juice, basil and sticky onion mixture to the orzo. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and add. Toss together and season.

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Winter Vegetable Pasta Bake

pasta bake

The weather is all a bit cold and grey at the moment and this pasta bake is something we ALL need in our lives right now.  Comforting, filling and using lots of seasonal British goodies it is a winning meal for all the family.  And, for those taking part in Veganuary, it is vegan too :). Continue reading Winter Vegetable Pasta Bake

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Candied Peel

I’ve made candied orange peel a few years running and, while they do take a bit of time, they are very low cost and make some beautiful gifts.  Using up the orange peel this way is also incredibly satisfying and people are always so grateful for a gift that has been homemade.  My main problem, is keeping them away from Rob long enough to give them away!  I haven’t included quantities because it is really up to you how much you make 🙂

Ingredients:

Orange peel

Granulated sugar

Method

Cut your orange into quarters and remove (and eat) the flesh.  Cut as much of the pith away as you can without damaging the skin.  You’re aiming for about 5mm of orange skin when you’re done.  Cut each quarter into 3 (giving you 12 strips of peel from one orange)

Put the peel in a saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes then drain and replace the water.  Only use enough water to cover the peel.  Boil again then simmer for 30 minutes.

Drain the peel but this time keep the cooking liquid. Add 100g of sugar to each 100ml of cooking liquid you have.  Heat in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved then add the peel and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Leave to cool then remove the peel and place on a wire rack.

Put the peel in the oven on its lowest setting and leave to dry out.  This can take quite a long time.  I tend to leave the peel in the top oven for a good few hours while I’m using the main oven.

Sprinkle a reusable baking sheet with sugar and toss your peel in it to coat them.  They still need to dry so spread them out and leave out  for another few hours.

Once your candied peel has dried out, store in an airtight container.

These taste delicious dipped in chocolate!

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The BEST Tomato Soup

You might think the best way to have juicy, sweet cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden is in a salad, or just as a delicious healthy snack, or even roasted.  But I’m telling you now that making them into this tomato soup is most definitely the best choice you will make.  It is pretty extravangant to soup cherry tomatoes so I can only justify doing it when we have LOADS in the garden.  I never regret it though.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂

Ingredients (serves 4)

1kg cherry tomatoes (I know, it is a lot!)

Pinch of chilli flakes

4 cloves of garlic

Olive oil (refill in store)

2 red onions

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar (refill in store)

Fresh basil to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the cherry tomatoes and crushed garlic cloves on a baking tray.  Season with salt and pepper then drizzle over plenty of olive oil. Leave to roast for 15 minutes or until just starting to char.

Slice the red onions and place in a large saucepan with some more oil.  Fry lightly until softened then add the balsamic vinegar and cook until caramelised.

Once the tomatoes are done, remove from the oven and add to the caramelised onions.  Blitz your tomato soup to the consistency you like (I prefer it a bit chunky but Rob likes a silky smooth soup.  Serve with fresh basil and sour dough